Fountain-pen container



C. J. FUNK FOUNTAIN PEN CONTAINER Filed Feb. 4, 1926 Patented Jan. 3, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFlCE.

CHARLES J". FUNK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO CLARENCE E. BARRETT, DO- ING- IBUSINESS AS C. E. BARRETT & 00., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FOUNTAIN-PEN CONTAINER.

Application filed February 4, 1926. Serial No. 85,855.

My invention relates to a desk appliance for conveniently storing a fountain pen, and for this purpose aims to provide a substantially airtight compartment in which the pen can be retained without requiring the usual cap to be slipped over the nib end of the pen.

In the ordinary intermittent use of a fountain pen,.much time is wasted in shifting the cap from one end of the barrel to the other, since it cannot be left for any considerable time upon the rear end of a pen (when the pen is not in use) without causing ink to dry in the feed of the pen so as to clog the latter. In banks and many departments of commercial establishments, the time thus spent means a waste which should be avoided in the interests of economy, and even in homes many users of fountain pens would prefer to have such pens instantly available for use.

To meet this need, my invention provides a desk appliance including a pen compartment designed for storing a fountain pen in a horizontal position and so constructed as to afford an airtight and dust-tight closure when the lid of the compartment is shut, but permitting the lid to be snapped open when the pen is to be used.

Furthermore, my invent-ion provides an arrangement for this purpose in which the support for the pen is depressed when the lid is closed, thereby permitting the storage compartment to be of relatively low height; and in which the pen-support is automatically raised when the lid is snapped open, so as to facilitate an easy and speedy grasping of the pen. It also provides apen container for this purpose in which the same spring arrangement serves for raising the pen-support, for swinging the lid to its open position when unlatched, and for insuring a tight seal between the lid and a packing member associated with the body member of the pen container.

Still further and also more detailed ob jects will appear from the following specification and from the accompanying draw-' ings, in which drawings:

as l is a perspective view of an embodiment of my invention comprising a fountain pen container and a pencil rack, showing this as it appears when the lid is open.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical and longitudinal section taken through the same embodiment along the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical section taken along the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. i is a fragmentary section similar to the left-hand portion of Fig. 2, taken with the lid in its closure position and with dotted lines showing a portion of a fountain pen stored in the container.

In the illustrated embodiment, my desk appliance has a body member 1 which includes a forwardly extending and relatively low portion provided with upwardly open longitudinal grooves 2 for holding pencils. The rear and taller main portion of the body has an upwardly open chamber 3 of substantially rectangular horizontal section, in which a pen-support is slidably disposed- This pen-support is supported by a pair of compression springs 5 interposed between its bottom and the base 1* of the body memher, and each spring extends into a recess 6 in the bottom of the pen-support so as to prevent the spring from sliding transversely of its axis with respect to the pen-support.

A lid 7 is hinged to the body member adiacent to its upper rear edge and desirably on pivot screws 8 disposed forwardly of tne said rear edge so that the rear edge of the lid will engage the rear face to the body member for limiting the opening movement of the lid to 'a position in which the center of gravity of the lid is back of the axes of the pivots, as shown in Fig. 3. Cooperating latch portions are provided on the body member and the lid, such as a forwardly projecting hook 9 on the lid disposed for catching under a rearwardly directed prong 10 on the spring latch 11 secured to the front gt the container portion of the body mem- When the lid is open, the springs 5 raise the pen support to a position in which both the fountain pen 12 and other portions of the pen-support are above the upper edges of the said chamber, thereby afiording ready 'medial portion 4 of the shown in Fig. 4.

access to the pen. To facilitate a grasping ofthe pen, I preferably employ a pen-sup-. port consisting of two end portions 4 and 4?, each formed after the manner of one end of a trough and adapted jointly to support the fountain pen, and an intermediate iortion 4 CODDQCUHO these end ortions.

lhis intermediate )ortion )referabl has its 11 3 oer face cons derably lower than the enf supporting troughs, thus leaving the part of the pen between the troughsexposed for convenient reach by the user, as shown in I also preferably form portions of the f pen-supportsuch as the trough ends Peso that they will extend above a fountain pen of ordinary diameter and hence will be engaged by the lid during the closing of the latter without having the lid touch the foun .tain pen. When the lid is being closed, its

" scratching of the latter.

To make the resulting closure airtight, I providethe upperedge of the container with a groove extending entirely around its bore and partly housing a frame-shaped packing member 13 of soft rubber or the like. Then I .emboss the lid so as toprovide a downwardly directed bead 14 opposite the center line of this packing member. The latter projects beyond the top of the body of the container and 'henceis engaged by the head 14: when the lid is forcibly closed, so that the bead indents the packing member (as shown in Fig. 3) and affords a container closure which is both airtight and dust-tight.

e To prevent the springs from lifting the pensupport to an undue extent, I provide cooperating stop portions on the pen-support and the body member, as for example a screw 15 having its head disposed in the receptacle of the container and disposed for engaging the Pe -s pp t, as

When stored in m-ycontainer the fountain pen is supported in a horizontal position, so

that gravity will :not feed an excess of ink to the nib of the pen. Hence I avoid the leakage of ink which is objectionable in holders designed for having the downwardly directed forward ends of pens inserted in them, With the latter type of holder, the

' user is also apt todamage the nib of the pen when'hastily' inserting the pen in the holder. .My container avoids such accidental damage, while always keeping a filled fountain pen ready for instant use.

However, while I have pictured and described my invention in an embodiment which also includes a pencil rack, I do not wish to be limited to such a combination. Neither do I wish to be limited to the use of spring means in the form of two separate springs, nor to other details of the construction and arrangement above disclosed, since many changes might obviously be made without departing either from the spirit of my I invention or from the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1, A fountain pencontainer comprising an upwardly open receptacle, alid hinged to the receptacle, a pen-support disposed within and vertically slidable in the receptacle and having upper portions disposed for directly engaging the lid when the latter is in its closed position, and spring means sup porting the penesupport and, arranged for pressing the said'supportagainst the lid when the latter is closed.

2. A fountain pencontainer comprising an upwardly open receptacle, a lid hinged adjacent to its rear edge to the receptacle, means for latching the lid in its closed position, a pen-support movable vertically in the receptacle and having upper portions di-- rectly engaging the lid when the lid is in its closed position and spring means for supporting the pen-support, the spring means being of such strength as to swing-the lid open and out of contact with the pen support when the latching means are released. 3. A fountain pen container as per claim 1, in which the pen-support has its said lidengaging portions projecting above a fountain pen resting on the support .and'disposed for preventing the pen from contactmg with the lid.

A fountain pen container as per claiml, in which thepen-support comprises a vpair of single-ended troughs respectively disposed for supporting the two 'end portions of a fountain pen, and a medial portion connecting th etwo troughs and disposed at some distance below the fountain pen.

5; fountain pen. container asperclaim 1, n which the pen-support comprises a pair of singleeended troughs respectivelydisposed for supporting the two end portions of aount i p n, and a med P e C nn c mg the two troughs and disposed at some dlstance below the fountain pen, each trough having its closed end extending above the pen so as to be adapted to engagethe lid.

6. A fountain pen containeras per claim 1, in which the pen-support comprises a pair of single-ended troughs respectively disposed for supporting the two .end portions 'of a fountain pen, and a'medial portion connecting the two troughs and disposed at some distance below the fountain pen, each trough having an end extending above the pen for engagement with. the lid, the said-end being upwardly convexed transversely of the trough.

7. A fountain pen container as per claim 1, in Which the spring means comprise a 5 pair of compression springs spaced 1ongi tudinally of the container, the pen-support having its bottom provided with a pair of recesses respectivel entered by and fitting the upper ends of the two springs to prevent a shifting of the springs in any lateral di- 10 rection.

Signed at- Chicago, Illinois, January 30th, 1926.

CHARLES J. FUNK. 

